bookrandom Chapter 387: The game isn't over yet, and the Raptors are already tanking!
Chapter 387: The game isn't over yet, and the Raptors are already tanking!
With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
First up are the Clippers' starting five: Curry, Gordon, David Lee, Rasul Butler, and Su Hao.
The Raptors' starting lineup included Barbosa, DeRozan, Wright, Arabi, and Bargnani.
For the Raptors, who are currently undergoing a rebuilding phase, they have welcomed a brand new head coach – Casey.
As an Eastern Conference team, the Raptors faced other Eastern Conference teams in their first two games and won them both.
However, the situation is very different today.
They not only need to challenge strong opponents from the West, but also face the formidable defending champion Clippers.
Despite facing relatively weaker Eastern Conference opponents in their first two games, winning this game seems unrealistic.
The only possibility is that they can get hot and beat the Clippers with accurate shooting.
But the prerequisite is that they must withstand Su Hao's attacks in the paint and prevent him from scoring easily.
During the jump ball, Su Hao and Bargnani stood near the center line, ready to compete.
The players quickly took their positions, and the referee tossed the basketball high into the air, officially starting the game!
Bargnani leaped high, trying to win the jump ball, but Su Hao's jumping ability was superior, and he easily passed the ball to his teammate Gordon.
Gordon received the ball and quickly launched an attack, rushing towards the basket like lightning.
The Raptors' defenders stayed close, but Gordon skillfully changed direction to get past them and then passed the ball to Curry.
Curry received the ball and jumped without hesitation. The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and fell accurately into the basket.
The Clippers got off to a winning start.
Although Su Hao didn't directly participate in the first attack, he consistently earned the team the first attacking opportunity in every match. This is something most players can't do.
Wright passed the ball to DeRozan.
As the team's current primary scorer, DeRozan dribbled the ball to the three-point line, facing Gordon's defense directly.
Ultimately, he cleverly used his teammate's screen to get rid of Gordon's entanglement, and then smoothly got to the vicinity of the free throw line, attempting to complete a mid-range shot.
Just before David Lee arrived to help defend, he threw the ball without hesitation.
Surprisingly, DeRozan's reputation as the "Mid-Range Prince" is well-deserved, as he made the shot with ease!
At this moment, Su Hao was already prepared to fight for the rebound under the basket.
However, to his surprise, DeRozan made the shot with incredible accuracy.
And so, the two sides ended in a draw after the first two rounds.
The match then moved to a different location for the second round.
After passing the ball to Curry, Su Hao quickly launched into an attack.
He dashed towards the basket like lightning and decisively reached out his hands to ask Curry for the ball.
Upon seeing this, Curry immediately understood and passed the ball to Su Hao.
After receiving the ball, Su Hao immediately made a feint, fooling the player defending him.
He jumped to shoot, but Bargnani leaped high, stretching out his arm, trying to block Su Hao's shot.
Just then, Su Hao displayed his amazing physical abilities. He adjusted his posture in mid-air, avoided Bargnani's block, and slammed the ball into the basket.
The audience cheered, and Su Hao's outstanding performance filled people with anticipation for the Clippers' victory.
The Raptors' home fans have essentially become Clippers fans.
The Raptors called a timeout, and Coach Casey gave the players instructions.
The game restarted, and the Raptors inbounded the ball.
After receiving the ball, DeRozan dribbled and broke through; his speed was so fast that the defenders had difficulty keeping up with him.
Su Hao quickly covered, and just as DeRozan jumped to shoot, Su Hao reached out to interfere, successfully disrupting DeRozan's shooting rhythm, and the ball bounced off the rim.
Su Hao grabbed the rebound again and quickly passed the ball to David Lee.
David Lee received the ball and launched a fast break, scoring a layup.
The score gradually widened, and the Clippers took control of the game.
After David Lee made a layup, the Raptors inbounded the ball.
The ball was passed to DeRozan, who dribbled quickly, looking for a breakthrough.
Su Hao kept a close eye on DeRozan, trying to stop him from breaking through.
Suddenly, DeRozan stopped abruptly, feigning a shot, and Su Hao jumped to block it.
But DeRozan was just faking it; he quickly changed direction, brushed past Su Hao, and drove to the basket.
However, Su Hao reacted extremely quickly. He turned around and caught up with DeRozan. The moment DeRozan jumped, Su Hao leaped high and delivered a solid block to DeRozan.
The basketball went out of bounds, and the Clippers gained possession.
After receiving the ball, Su Hao drove straight to the basket, ignoring the opponent's defense, and slammed the ball down with one hand, drawing cheers from the entire arena.
The score gap widened further, the Raptors' morale plummeted, while the Clippers played better and better.
Near the end of the first quarter, they already had a double-digit lead.
"The Clippers are really bullying us! They beat the Raptors in just one quarter!" Yang Yi said with a smile.
"That's right, the Clippers are on a completely different level from the Raptors. Su Hao only exerted a little effort, and they couldn't hold on!" Su Qun said calmly.
"This game has completely become Su Hao's personal showcase. He's scoring and blocking shots all at once. It's a one-man show!" Coach Zhang laughed heartily from the sidelines.
Watching his team fall so far behind their opponents in less than a quarter of the game.
Newly appointed Coach Casey was in a very difficult situation.
He had won the previous two games by luck, but that wasn't what he wanted. He had originally planned to tank this season and go straight for the number one draft pick.
Unexpectedly, there was an even more shameless team that actually lost to them.
And it's not just one team that dares to lose.
By deliberately throwing the game, the Raptors, who were not a strong team to begin with, won two games in a row.
For a moment, they even started dreaming of making it to the playoffs.
It wasn't until today's match against the defending champion Clippers that they truly understood what real strength meant.
In less than a quarter of the game, the Raptors were brought back to reality.
Casey called a timeout with one minute left in the first quarter.
DeRozan and several other starting players were replaced.
He's basically admitting defeat and starting to give up.
"Let's just give up on this game! They're too strong, especially Su Hao; we have no way to stop him from scoring!" Casey said calmly.
Clearly, he had already foreseen the outcome of this match.
However, he did not expect that his team would not even last the first quarter.
It would be more practical to just give up and do nothing.